THURSDAY, 11:07am: The move is official, the team announced via press release.
WEDNESDAY, 9:34pm: The Grizzlies intend to waive Ryan Hollins, Chris Vernon of ESPN 92.9 FM reports (Twitter link). The roster move was necessary in order to allow Memphis to ink Xavier Munford for the remainder of the season, Vernon notes. The franchise will be on the hook for the remainder of Hollins’ $239,605 salary, provided he clears waivers. Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal first noted that Hollins was a candidate to be released.
This appears to signal that the NBA won’t issue the Grizzlies any hardship exceptions for the playoffs. Memphis has 16 players under contract at current, not counting Munford, who’s reportedly due to re-sign for the season. Among the 16 is Bryce Cotton, whose 10-day contract will expire after Saturday’s game against the Warriors. The other 15 Grizzlies have contracts that run until the end of the season, so to formally add Munford on a rest-of-season deal without any hardship help from the league, the Grizzlies have to waive somebody, and that somebody appears to be Hollins.
This marks the end of Hollins’ fourth stint with the Grizzlies in 2015/16. He also spent a few weeks with the Wizards in November and December. In 32 games for Memphis this season overall, Hollins averaged 3.6 points and 2.7 rebounds in 12.9 minutes.